Sowing Seeds
Sowing Seeds was a series of creative writing workshops for young people aged 11 – 14 and their friends and families, to explore the connections between art, nature, and self-expression.
Led by artist, poet and comedian Jasmine Thien, each week introduced a new theme and poetic technique, inspired by the gallery’s autumn exhibition Anya Gallaccio: preserve, which featured artwork crafted from organic and ephemeral materials. The sessions were supported by Helen, a member of the gallery’s learning team and a published author.
From personifying the humble apple to exploring the rhythms of sonnets and drawing on memory through freewriting, the group was encouraged to be playful and curious with words.
Delivered in partnership with Kent Association for the Blind, the workshops were designed in response to a gap in creative opportunities for young people with sight loss in Kent.
The creations from these workshops will be added to Turner Contemporary’s growing multi-sensory exhibition archive, that includes creative audio descriptions and tactile objects.
Read Jasmine's poems inspired by the exhibition
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Come with me, sisters, behind this pane of glass
where we will be adored, cherished and seen.
Let us gather and spread our petals en mass,
A forest of crimson that sparkle and gleam
as we once did to every dewdrop’s kiss
in the morning light under foreign climes
where waking birds sang in rapturous bliss
welcoming each sunrise, the keeper of time.
Towards the sun we turned throughout the day
as east to west it strode in grand parade
and as the nighttime stripped the warmth away
we filled the unscented air with gifts we made.
But now we’re here, in time we’ll turn to dust,
To then rejuvenate the sisters after us.
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My dearest,
You were blessed.
A million dreams wrapped in a seed. They whispered
promises into cupped palms, pressed
these in the giving earth:
she will thrive, she will give
so much more than she will realise, she will be loved …
Hope became your heart’s song
as you danced in the laughter of rain, and sang
with each sunbeam that played among your branches.
Hope became your heart’s prayer
as spring slipped into summer, and autumn
fell into winter’s deep slumber. Soon, very soon.
Hope became your heart’s cry
as year upon year upon year …
nothing. Again … nothing. Still … nothing.
Hope became a distant memory.
Then, like a sudden breeze, an artist came,
placed her hand on each dead hope. Each touch
an idea. I can help you,
she said. She brought with her
gifts from the same earth that mothered you, encased
your form in bronze, molded unrotting apples
out of porcelain and clay, adorned
your branches with blessings abundant.
Now here you are, a present to our times:
you have thrived, you continue to give
so much more than you realise, you are loved …
you are blessed.
About the Artist
Jasmine Thien (she/her) is a fully blind poet, writer, actor and comedian of Southeast Asian Chinese descent. Her work often explores the nuances of the intersectional experience, drawn from her own life as a disabled and neurodivergent woman of colour. She recently made her publishing debut, contributing several poems towards Spin! a children’s poetry anthology edited by former Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and published by Otter Barry Books in spring 2024.
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